Method for preventing total failure of a processing unit for protocol information

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for preventing total failure in a processing unit for sending and receiving protocol information for a large number of transmission channels, wherein a protocol process is started by a controller for every protocol and a separate monitoring process that monitors the orderly time duration of the protocol process can be activated or deactivated parallel thereto for every protocol process. If the previously determined time duration of the protocol process is exceeded, the monitoring process reports it to the controller, whereupon the controller stores relevant data for subsequent localization of errors.

The invention relates to a method for preventing total failure in a processing unit for sending and receiving protocol information and a processing unit for sending and receiving protocol information.

The general background to the present invention is a processing unit, which sends and receives the information required by a protocol (e.g. SSCOP, #7, HDLC, internal transport protocol, etc.). Such processing units are integrated in many networks, to allow the transfer of data within the network.

Technical developments mean that the requirements relating to processing units are ever more stringent. For example protocol information has to be sent and received in increasingly short time units. This can be achieved on the one hand by minimizing the time required for a transmission operation and on the other hand by increasing the number of transmission channels.

To minimize the time required for a transmission operation, the protocol information is transported using high-performance switching technology, e.g. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).

Increasing the number of transmission channels in a processing unit for sending and receiving protocol information (currently approx. 16000) gives rise in some instances to management problems, as it is virtually impossible to support a corresponding number of transmission channels in the conventional manner.

In order to be able to support all channels, the protocol must be set up in the hardware, for example via an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and/or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

ASICs are special chips, which are designed and optimized on the strength of specific deployment, to achieve a high level of performance.

To optimize the circuit design of said chips, the trend in recent years has moved away from the conventional digital circuit design with standard logic (74xx) to programmable logic. FPGA in particular has gained in significance as a result.

ATM and ASIC have been combined for the transmission of information since the end of the nineties. The combination is used successfully for example in the digital telephone switching system EWSD (Electronic Worldwide Switch Digital).

During the transmission of information what is known as a work split defines which part of the protocol is processed by the ASIC and which part of the protocol is processed by the subsequent software in the processor on the assembly.

Networks are generally tested before the actual transmission of useful data. It is however not possible due to the complexity of the protocols to test the processing of all situations beforehand.

A certain error probability therefore always remains. This can mean that in some circumstances defective protocol information is received, which results in total failure of the system. The other transmission channels are thereby also affected.

If an error occurs in an ASIC, the following problems can potentially occur during error correction:

-   -   error location is extremely difficult in a complex ASIC,     -   immediate error rectification is not possible or is only         possible by redesign, and     -   protocol processing can only be restarted by resetting the         hardware.

There is therefore a need for a method, which prevents total failure (deadlock) during protocol processing.

The object of the invention is therefore to develop a method, which prevents total failure during protocol processing.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of the independent claims. The dependent claims develop the central idea of the invention in a particularly advantageous manner.

The central concept of the invention is to achieve a method for preventing total failure in a processing unit for sending and receiving protocol information for a large number of transmission channels in that a protocol process is started by a controller for every protocol and parallel to this for every protocol process a separate monitoring process can be activated, which is started at the same time as the protocol process and monitors the time duration of the protocol process to identify a defective transmission channel.

It is also necessary for it to be possible for the software to activate and deactivate the monitoring process separately for every protocol process.

The monitoring process advantageously reports to the controller if as previously defined time duration of the protocol process is exceeded. If it is, it must be assumed that the protocol information is defective, putting protocol processing in a “deadlock” state.

It is particularly advantageous, if the duration of the monitoring process can be adjusted separately for every protocol process, as the different processes require different times. Alternatively the duration of all monitoring processes can be defined as the maximum possible process duration. This however results in an unnecessary time delay in the identification of defective protocol information.

A time base, which predefines a basic clock rate, is integrated in the processing unit to control the time duration of the monitoring process.

According to the invention the controller secures the data relevant to the subsequent error location, as soon as it receives a report from the monitoring process that the duration of the protocol process is exceeding the previously defined time. The relevant data includes the name of the protocol process, the current state of the protocol process and/or further signal states. It is stored in registers.

The controller then resets the processing unit, whereby the data, which is stored for subsequent error location, is retained.

After the reset operation the controller starts a process, which reads the last received message triggering the error response from the receive storage device and forwards it together with the stored data for error location to external software.

The processing unit is then ready to process the next message and total failure does not result.

The defective transmission channel of the processing unit is also blocked and can only be released by the software after successful error rectification.

One example of the sequence for processing protocol information according to the invention is described below with reference to FIG. 1.

The protocol information is transmitted for example in ATM cells to a processing unit 1. There is therefore a hardware unit on the receive side of the processing unit 1 for processing the received protocol information. In the present case this is an RA (Receive ATM Adaptation Layer).

The received protocol information is buffered in a receive storage device 5. The storage device manager sends a signal 14 to the controller 2 that information has to be processed. The controller then decides on the basis of a control word (protocol mode) which protocol 3 said message is intended for. Every protocol 3 has a specific process, which is started by the controller 2 by means of a start signal 15. The protocol process 3 a processes the information and then transmits all the relevant data via a signal 13 to a bus interface 6, which in turn forwards it via a signal 12 to subsequent software in the processor on the assembly for further processing.

To monitor the time of the protocol process 3 a, a monitoring process 4 a is started parallel to this and at the same time in a monitoring unit 4 by means of a start signal 17. The maximum permitted duration of the monitoring process is determined individually for every protocol process 4 a. For the purposes of time optimization, it is determined as the time required by the protocol process 3 a for error-free processing. To control the duration of the monitoring period, the monitoring process 4 a obtains a basic clock rate 18 from a time base 7.

When the protocol process 3 a terminates its work stages, it signals this to the controller 2, which then stops the monitoring process 4 a. It is therefore essential that every monitoring process 4 a can be deactivated separately. The storage device manager of the receive storage device 5 is then informed that the information has been processed and the next message can therefore be processed.

If the monitoring process 4 a is terminated before the protocol process 3 a is terminated, it must be assumed that the protocol information is defective, thereby putting protocol processing in a “deadlock” state.

In this case the monitoring process 4 a reports the existence of defective protocol information to the controller 2 by means of an error notification 19. The controller 2 then secures all relevant data, such as the name of the protocol process that caused the error, the current state of the protocol process to locate the cause of the error and/or further signal states as a function of the respective protocol in registers.

The controller 2 then resets the entire unit, whereby the data stored for subsequent error location is retained. The protocol process 3 a, the monitoring unit 4, the time base 7 and the bus interface are thereby reset. This can be achieved for example in that the reset signal 10 is generated by an OR circuit 9, to which the output signal 11 of the controller 2 and the external reset signal 8 are fed.

After the reset operation, the controller 2 starts a process, which reads the last received message triggering the error response from the receive storage device 5 via a signal 16 and forwards it together with the stored data for error location to the external software 20.

A signal is then sent to the storage device manager of the receive storage device 5 that the information has been processed and the next message can be processed.

The defective transmission channel is also immediately blocked by the software 20 or the hardware and can only be released again by the software 20 after successful error rectification.

The invention therefore allows total failure to be prevented in a processing unit in the event of defective protocol information and the cause of the error to be determined. 

1-19. (cancelled)
 20. A method for preventing a failure in a processing unit that sends and receives protocol information for a plurality of transmission channels, comprising: starting a protocol process by a controller for every protocol; activating or deactivating a separate monitoring process parallel to every protocol process; starting the separate monitoring process at the same time as the protocol process; and monitoring by the separate monitoring process the time duration of the protocol process to identify an error response.
 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the monitoring process sends a message to the controller, as soon as a previously defined time duration of the protocol process is exceeded.
 22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the duration of the monitoring process is adjusted separately for every protocol process.
 23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the time duration of the monitoring process is measured on the basis of a basic clock rate predefined by a time base.
 24. The method according to claim 21, wherein after receipt of the message that the protocol process has exceeded the previously defined time duration, the controller stores relevant data for subsequent error location.
 25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the relevant data comprises the name of the protocol process, the current state of the protocol process and/or further signal states.
 26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the controller resets the processing unit, whereby the data stored for subsequent error location is retained.
 27. The method according to claim 26, wherein after the reset operation the controller starts a process that reads the last received message triggering the error response from the receive data storage unit and forwards it together with the stored data for error location to an external software program.
 28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the defective transmission channel is immediately blocked.
 29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the external software program releases the defective transmission channel after successful error rectification.
 30. A processing unit for sending and receiving protocol information for a large number of transmission channels, comprising: a controller that starts a protocol process for every protocol; a monitoring unit that monitors the time duration of the protocol process to identify a defective transmission channel; and a monitoring process that is activated or deactivated separately at the same time as every protocol process.
 31. The processing unit according to claim 30, further comprising a time base which predefines a basic clock rate that the time duration of the monitoring process is measured.
 32. The processing unit according to claim 30, wherein the monitoring unit sends a message to the controller as soon as a previously defined duration of the protocol process is exceeded.
 33. The processing unit according to claim 30, wherein upon receipt of the message the controller stores relevant data for subsequent error location in a register.
 34. The processing unit according to claim 33, wherein the controller resets the processing unit, whereby the data stored for subsequent error location is retained.
 35. The processing unit according to claim 34, wherein after the reset operation the controller starts a process that reads the last received message triggering an error response from the receive storage device and forwards it together with the stored data via a bus interface for error location to an external software program.
 36. The processing unit according to claim 35, wherein the controller is connected to the external reset signal via an OR circuit.
 37. The processing unit according to claim 36, wherein the defective transmission channel is blocked by the external software program.
 38. The processing unit according to claim 37, wherein the external software program releases the defective transmission channel after error rectification. 